Don't be surprised if Metro goes bankrupt within the next several years (prices, versus)

[TheWatchmen]

Originally Posted by e2ksj3

You get what you pay for. If people don't want to pay taxes or want super low taxes you get service cuts and a bad transportation network. I understand people not wanting to see their tax payers dollars wasted but transportation is something that will benefit everyone on a daily basis so why would you not want to fund that. Instead we get stuck with private for profit toll roads, so those main folks screaming about high taxes are still paying in the form of expensive tolls. It just boggles my mind. Hopefully Metro won't go broke.

I pay Federal income taxes. State income taxes. Sales taxes. Personal Property taxes, both house and car. Gas taxes, even. Why can't a more equitable portion of this go to funding transportation??

[slaminjamin87]

Looks like Metro's high prices with unreliability and poor maintenance issues has taken it's toll on declining ridership.


D.C. area sees fewer taking public transit - WTOP

[Old Guard]

Originally Posted by slaminjamin87

Looks like Metro's high prices with unreliability and poor maintenance issues has taken it's toll on declining ridership.


D.C. area sees fewer taking public transit - WTOP

Does the article mention reliability and maintenance?

[lqda4]

Can't rely on train if you had to hail a cab half way through your commute because of train breakdown/delay (happened to my wife last week). She also notices that the metro is getting dirtier lately (not mud/grime weather-related but actual trash/food items).

[Spaten_Drinker]

Originally Posted by slaminjamin87

This proves my entire point on how inept Metro is today. Look who they hired as their senior supervisors. Most of them had prison history. What other type of organization does this practice?

What's more embarrassing is that the local media hasn't been very critical of metro at all.

How about just privatizing the metro and letting people compete for those jobs based on merit?

[airjay75]

Originally Posted by Spaten_Drinker

How about just privatizing the metro and letting people compete for those jobs based on merit?

If, by privatizing Metro, you mean eliminating any government funding, it simply wouldn't work. I don't think there is a single public transit system anywhere that operates only with the revenue it brings in and without taxpayer support, just as there aren't any roads anywhere that were built or are maintained without taxpayer dollars. In fact, I believe Metro has one of the highest farebox recovery rates of any public transit system in the country, meaning that a higher percentage of its operating budget comes from fares than from other sources. This is, in part, because Metro has no dedicated source of funding (like a local tax) the way many other transit systems (such as in NYC) do. Instead, they have to go back to the local jurisdictions every year and beg for money.

Personally, I think what we need more than anything else is a regional organization (like a nonprofit, not a government agency) to represent the interests of riders and to put pressure on Metro for accountability and performance. It seems to me that the way the current governance of Metro works with no elected officials (only those appointed by other area governments) simply does not provide a way for riders to hold Metro directly accountable to the interests of riders. I would gladly pay membership dues to such an organization.

[rome99]

rail transit will never disappear. that too in NOVA area? no way!!

Originally Posted by tysonsengineer

Everyone concurs about this, but your logical conclusion assumes that transportation and transit decisions operate in a vacuum. If Metro were to start going bankrupt and services were really dramatically cut (BTW I agree what they are toying with doing would be a dramatic cut that would anger enough people), riders would account for a large enough population to force reform politically. Beyond that, drivers, now seeing tens of thousands of more people driving to work, clogging up major highways and city streets, would again, question what is going wrong and demand questions.

The Tube underwent something like this. The system overall can only ever hit a critical threshold at which point a rejection of all agreements would be enacted, the arbitrator having information showing a mass exodus would force that hand.

Before things get to that point, I hope we can continue to force not just management and safety change (which I think are shallow... see explanation in a second) but actual organizational structural changes. Half of the problem is created out of this abnormal political board/arbitrator component that essentially makes the WMATA manager a puppet position. Frankly I don't even blame Sarles (although I wish he would return that 1 million in salary he didnt deserve) he said many times his hands were tied in many of these issues. I blame Bowser, Supervisor Gross, Mayor Euille much more since they are actually on the board and uniquely capable of implementing changes.

The problem is, for politicians, its about the ribbon cuttings, the "being strong" on safety, and jobs... it has nothing to do with how frequently trains operate, how often we have to deal with unexpected delays, or other operational issues that don't make front page news.

Either way, don't sell your property near metro because you think transit rail will disappear, it's not gonna disappear. At this point the outrage hasn't hit a necessary level mostly because the average person in the area doesn't think about WMATA, or read about WMATA future plans, so doesn't know this is headed for an impasse. When they do find out, I dont think politicians will be able to ignore it.

So please, if you actually care about transit, send a letter to your Senator, your congressman, and your local Board member in an informed tone asking for accountability of organization to make WMATA more sustainable for service.

[gomason]

Originally Posted by TheWatchmen

I pay Federal income taxes. State income taxes. Sales taxes. Personal Property taxes, both house and car. Gas taxes, even. Why can't a more equitable portion of this go to funding transportation??

Because of the politicians like the one just elected in Maryland and the ones controlling the US Congress. I hope you vote every election if you really think public transit deserves more funding. Some *ahem* Republicans in Congress think that public transit shouldn't receive a dime from the federal gas tax. Of course Republicans are non-existent in urban areas so they don't really care.

[TheWatchmen]

Originally Posted by gomason

Because of the politicians like the one just elected in Maryland and the ones controlling the US Congress. I hope you vote every election if you really think public transit deserves more funding. Some *ahem* Republicans in Congress think that public transit shouldn't receive a dime from the federal gas tax. Of course Republicans are non-existent in urban areas so they don't really care.

I most certainly do vote - public transportation is it at the bottom of every politician's list, including on the local level.

[paytonc]

Originally Posted by slaminjamin87

serious bankruptcy and possibly eliminate public transportation

Hyperbole much?

Pretty much for the entire 12 years that I lived in Chicago, the transit agencies would present "doomsday budgets" each year that threatened massive service cuts. Almost every year, some sort of bailout was presented to avert the crisis. Yes, the 'L' is still there, and actually carrying more passengers than it has in decades. Mind you, Metrorail actually carries more passengers every day than the 'L,' too.

BTW, not to say anything specific about WMATA, but the Toronto Transit Commission carries more than twice as many passengers a day while receiving 40% fewer dollars in local operating subsidies.

BTW, there are metro systems that run operating surpluses, but they're in super-dense Asian cities like Hong Kong and Tokyo. If you want a profitable, unsubsidized Metro, you're going to have to give up that yard and garage and get used to 50-story elevator rides. That's not necessarily a bad thing -- the quality of life in those cities is surprisingly excellent -- but it'll take some adjustment.